Yesteryear
by Segway
Summary: The time stream's been corrupted, opening thousands of alternate realities. In one such reality, Megatron receives the golden disk as a child. Dispite the time difference, his plan remains the same: Return to the past and kill Optimus Prime.
1. Chapter 1: Getting Started

Yesteryear

[A/N: In Beast Wars, it was insinuated that some characters changed their name to fit their new form, but to avoid confusion, all beast wars characters in this story will retain their original name.]

Chapter 1: Getting started

***

During the beast wars. Megatron had accomplished what his predecessor had failed to do. He had plunged an Energon saber into the Spark of Optimus Prime, killing him in front of the optics of his very descendent, Optimus Primal.

The time stream cracked, wavered, and spit electricity. It was shattered. Like a raging river being split with a thousand rocks, numerous alternate realities occurred. It manifested itself in the form of giant crevasses, tearing up the ground around them.

"**Noooo!**" Primal screamed.

Rushing at Megatron, he tackled the Dragon, forcing him to release his hold on the saber. The blade lay embedded in the prone form of Optimus Prime, cracking with small bolts of electricity.

"**You're too late, Primal! Yessss…The universe is mine!**"

"**Never!**"

Snapping his prehensile tail, Megatron knocked his opponent off and charged at him. Optimus rolled to the side, just as the tail sliced into the earth where his head had been.

Yanking his tail back and sending some chunks of dirt flying, Megatron aimed his cannon. The shot went wide as Primal gripped his arms, and turned it up. Still grasping Megatron's arms, he shoved the two of them towards the crevasse.

Megatron chanced a look behind him. There was no bottom, just golden streaks of light swirling together like tiny whirlpools. A fall here could take them anywhere, to anytime. Even to sudden death.

Kicking out with his feet, Megatron fought to free his arms. But Optimus's grip held, and the struggle continued. Sliding closer to the edge, their fighting dislodged the golden disk.

Falling out of Megatron's subspace, it landed with a clink. Starting to roll towards the edge, it's jagged path was interrupted by a data book, the Covenant of Primus. Bowling it over like a domino, the two objects fell off the side, sinking into the time stream.

***

While the Great War had been over for a long time, most of the soldiers still remained. Though the old Cons and Bots still were slightly at odds with one another, their children were somewhat less hateful.

The reason for this slightly peaceful time was the treaty. A deal between Cyclonus and Optimus Prime. The deal had only been possible when Galvatron finally could no longer lead the Decepticons and the Decepticon's no longer thought their 'cause' was worth living on Chaar.

Cybertron was divided. 1/3rd was under Autobot rule, 1/3rd under Decepticon and 1/3rd remained for Neutrals.

To an Autobot, the dark gray metal buildings and the haphazard building construction may have been depressing or foreboding, but to the Decepticon's, it was home. It was also fun to laugh at visiting Autobots when they got lost; unable to define a direction when all the grays seem blend together.

An 11 year old Megatron skipped down the ally, on his way to drag Terrorsaur, Scorponok and Waspinator to school.

He was the son of the Combaticon Swindle and the Stunticon Motormaster. He had Swindle's purple optics and fusion cannon, but Motormaster's purple face, truck alt-mode and body build.

His foot steps clanged against the metal as he climbed the stairs. Pressing the ringer, he waited.

Terrorsaur hopped out, keying the door behind him shut. The two started down the stairs, in the direction of Waspinator's apartment, arguing like always.

Terrorsaur was the son of Thrust, and he bore his cherry red paint color. But he really took after he second creator, Astrotrain, in his body build, mini-shuttle alt-mode and his beautiful half-moon wings. His Orange/red diamond slanted optics, however, could not be pinpointed to either side.

Arriving at Waspinator's house, instead of ringing the door bell, as it was broken from somebody nibbling on it, Terrorsaur chucked a few rocks at the highest window. He probably used a few more rocks then necessary, judging by Kickback's glare when the door finally opened. Grabbing Waspinator, Megatron and Terrorsaur waved while smiling innocently and running down the street.

Waspinator had inherited a Wasp alt-mode from Kickback, but as Kickback had never revealed who Waspinator's other creator was, it was anyone's guess who's green paint color he had.

The three children finally reached their last destination. Opening the gate, Megatron walked inside while Terrorsaur and Waspinator watched on from the entrance.

Ringing the bell, he waited. It didn't take long before Scorponok opened the door.

"Ready?" Megatron asked.

"Uh huh." Scorponok answered.

Scorponok was the son of Shrapnel and Onslaught. He had a Scorpion alt-mode and a dark gray paint color from Shrapnel and he had Onslaught's yellow visor and his tactical mind, but without the authority. He was also Megatron's cousin on Onslaught's side and Waspinator's cousin on Shrapnel's side.

The two excited the property, meeting up with the other two.

"All right, so now that we are all together, what's going on?"

Terrorsaur asked.

"Going on? What ever do you mean?" Megatron's grin was anything but innocent.

"School doesn't _start_ for another two hours."

Terrorsaur narrowed his optics at Megatron, while Scoponok and Waspinator both stopped to check their internal clock to see, that yes, it was still another two hour's till School started.

Leading the group into an abandoned ally, he made sure to check for any eavesdroppers. Satisfied, Megatron brought a gold disk out of subspace.

"What's that?"

"This," He held it up for them to see. "Is a message from the past."

"What kind of message?" Terrorsaur asked, making a grab for the disk.

Yanking it back, Megatron placed it back in subspace and shook his head.

"One that will get us out of this afternoon's test, yesss."

"Oh come on! You know what happens every time you're 'going to get us out of taking that test'?" Terrorsaur paused. "Bad things. _Bad things_ happen."

"Yes. But this time," Megatron grinned. "We're not just getting out of taking a test, we're completely deleting the test from existence!"

The other three gave him an odd look.

"We're doing what?" Asked Scorponok with a tilt of his head.

"Wazzpinator not think that pozzible."

Terrorsaur threw his arms into the air, exasperated.

"I knew it! He finally went crazy!"

"It's only crazy if you're small minded. Now, follow me."

Edging their way through back alleys, broken fences and a few hidden tunnels, they reached their new destination.

"Taranchulas's lab? You are crazy!"

Huddled back behind a fence, peeking through a broken slate, they stared at the ominous stainless steel building. Two glass windows were showing off multi-colored beakers, and objects that resembled torture devices.

"Why do we need in there?"

"A time machine." Megatron whispered. "We're going to stop today's test of the Great Wars by erasing them from existence and ensuring the Deceptions' victory."

Terrorsaur stared at Megatron.

"What kind of a plan is this?!" He screeched.

"Shh! Shh! Someone will hear you! Now, be quiet and follow me. Unless, you're too afraid, yesss?"

"I'm not afraid! But I am certain you will lead us to our deaths."

"You just keep being positive, Terrorsaur."

Megatron pushed aside one of the metal slates, opening it only enough for the four children to sneak through. Grabbing Terrorsaur's hand, he tugged the shuttle with him.

Edging around random junk that had been skewed across the yard, the four made it to the back door without springing any alarms. Megatron, although the tallest of the group, still had to stand on the tips of his feet to reach the key pad. Tapping in the activation number, it let out an acceptance ping and the doors slid open.

Glancing into the dark room, they slowly crept inside, using the natural glow of their optics as light. Walking as soft as they could, they skirted past the lab tables and assorted junk, cautious of the beakers and tubes filled with unknown substances.

"We're here." Megatron whispered as they turned the corner.

Nearly a several large tubes were connected to a metallic box in the center of the room, followed by thousands of colorful wires on almost every available surface. Two cylinder shaped energy generators were pressed against the wall, seemingly held there by the infestation of colored wires.

"That…" Terrorsaur paused. "Looks like a death machine. We're not really going to go through with this, are we?"

"Yesss, we are."

Grinning like a fiend, Megatron sprinted to the time machine's controls. Waspinator shuddered and hid behind Terrorsaur while Scorponok meekly took a step backward. Megatron reached up and pulled the largest lever. The machine turned on with a loud whirring noise and a few bangs.

"How did you know how to turn it on?" Scorponok asked timidly.

"Haven't you ever watched television? It's always the largest lever or button, yesss."

"That's stupid!" Complained Terrorsaur. "You're going to get us killed."

"Stop whining. Alright everybody, get in."

Megatron entered the time machine, the other three hesitantly followed. Inside, the interior was extremely plain. The four walls were smooth and bare, with the exception of a key pad. This time, Megatron could not reach it, even standing on his toes.

"Terrorsaur? Can you fly yet?"

"No, but Dad said my thrusters should activate any day now."

"That doesn't help us now, does it? Nooo. Waspinator? What about you?"

"Wazzpinator no fly yet. Wazzpinator's wingz ztill not big enough." He demonstated by fluttering the tiny metal wasp wings on his back.

Megatron glanced at the key pad, estimating it's height.

"Terrorsaur, come over here and get on my shoulders."

Rolling his optics, Terrorsaur walked over. He climbed atop Megatron as he kneeled. Standing, the two could just reach the key pad.

'What do I type in?" Asked Terrorsaur.

"Uhhh… What year did the Autobot's crash land on earth?"

"I thought we we're traveling to the past, not playing Trivia!"

"Wazzpinator know! 1980!"

"1980?" Terrorsaur repeated. "Is that right?"

"I think so." Scorponok answered, then grinned. "We're doing this to get out of the test that asks this question, isn't that ironic?"

"No, shut up." Terrorsaur said, while tapping in the numbers.

The time machine glowed brightly and let out a loud wavering hum. Grabbing the sides of the small room, the four children held on.

"It feels like an elevator." Scorponok said, just as they teleported out of their time.

***

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2: Found

Yesteryear

Chapter 2: Found

***

Their landing had been less then spectacular. The time machine had come to a stop hard enough to knock them all off their feet and sprawled into one another. They stayed in their landing position for a few minutes, engulfed in silence.

"…That was not fun." Terrorsaur rubbed his head.

"It work?" Asked Waspinator.

Standing, Megatron made his way to the door and opened it. He peeked out into the bare, unlit room. Taking a hesitant step out, he listened for a few minutes.

"There aren't any cables, tubes, or science equipment." Scorponok said, peeking from behind Megatron. "We've definitely moved…."

"Alright, men!" Megatron spun around and looked at the other three still in the time machine. "Let's go kill Optimus Prime."

"With what?" Terrorsaur asked. "You're cannon barely has enough fire power to blast through an empty Energon cube! And you're going to blast through Optimus Prime's armor? You're more fragged up then I thought!"

"Terror-bot!" Waspinator said. "No Curzing, remember?"

"Yeah, who's going to hear me?"

"Enough!" Megatron said. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, yes. For now, we have to make our way to the hanger, find a shuttle and figure out how to drive the thing to earth."

"Pilot." Terrorsaur corrected. "Pilot the shuttle. You don't drive them."

"Whatever. Let's go."

They exited the room and walked down the empty hall. It resembled the hall in their own time, but with a few slight differences, such as the blue glow and eerie silence.

"Wazzpinator not like quiet." He huddled behind Terrorsaur, his wings shivering.

Scorponok's claws started to clatter, their light clicking sound echoing. Megatron turned around and glared at them.

"It's just an empty building! Quit being little scardy-bots. You're Cons! Act like it, yesss…."

Megatron ignored his followers and went on ahead. Terrorsaur folded his arms and continued forward as well, dragging Waspinator along after him. With slight hesitation, Scorponok followed.

It wasn't long before they reached the entrance. The layout wasn't unlike that from their own time, diminishing the need for a map. The sky, however, was very different. It was clean, clear and cold. No factories were in operation here.

***

Continuing down the streets for several blocks, their initial thought of the Cybertron being abandoned were proven false. Rounding a corner, Megatron had to backpedal to avoid detection by a sentry drone.

"I thought you said this planet was deserted!" Megatron said in a harsh whisper.

"I never said that!" Terrorsaur whispered back. "And I had no idea there was anyone here. What's going on?"

"Uh… Didn't Megatron, the first one, not you Megatron, leave some guy in charge of something? Ya'know, when they took off… to do something?"

"He did?" Megatron asked. "So this place isn't entirely deserted?"

"Guess not…"

"So what do we do now?" Terrorsaur asked. "Do we go back to the time machine or sneak past the guard drones?"

"That would not be a wise course of action." Shockwave said, stepping out of a nearby metallic building. He pointed a gun at them, but seemed to falter. "C-children?!"

"Run!" Megatron ordered. "To the hanger!"

The four of them took off at full speed, heading toward the airplane hanger. Shockwaves calls of "Wait!" and "Stop!" had no impact. They ran past the sentry drones, who miraculously did not fire on them. Shockwave was just not quite fast enough to keep up.

Skidding through the door, Scorponok keyed it shut while Terrorsaur pulled down an exit ramp on one of the old space shuttles.

"Who was that guy?" Megatron asked, looking over his shoulder at the door Shockwave was now pounding on.

"I don't know." Terrorsaur answered, taking the pilots seat. "And this shuttle is so obsolete. Seat belts? Seriously?"

"Can you pilot it?"

"Yeah."

"Then do it."

***

Shockwave stared at the door in complete bafflement. First it had been the Autobot femme's who had defied all logic by still living, now there was four Decepticon children running about.

_Children who should not exist!_ He told himself.

"Children!" Shockwave knocked on the door with his gun hand. "In the name of the Decepticon empire, I demand you tell me who you are and where you've come from."

The roar of an engine starting up was his answer. Slamming through the locked hanger door on the other side of the building, the shuttle took to the sky, climbing into the atmosphere like a blazing dart.

Shockwave stumbled a few steps back at the unexpected take off.

***

Scorponok, Waspinator and Megatron had been tossed about, while a smirking Terrorsaur remained firmly bucked into the pilots seat.

"Terrorsaur!" Megatron shouted. "You're an awful pilot!"

"Wazzpinators head hurt."

***

Stumbling back into the Decepticon base, Shockwave hastily tapped in Megatron's frequency.

"Megatron!" He exclaimed as the monitor flickered on. "I have the most urgent news."

"What is it, Shockwave?"

"I have just spotted four Decepticon children in the east sector. I tried to detain them, but they escaped via a DC-7 shuttle. I am tracking the spacecraft as we speak."

"Children?" Starscream appeared beside Megatron in the monitor. "Hear that Megatron? Your supposed guardian of Cybertron has finally lost it."

"Shut up, Starscream!" Megatron pointed his cannon threateningly before turning towards the monitor. "What is the meaning of this, Shockwave? There are no Decepticon children on Cybertron!"

"Not anymore. You can see for yourself, their predicted co-ordinates correspond with that of earths."

Megatron was quiet for a moment, rubbing his hand against his chin. "You are certain they are Decepticons?"

"All four wore our insignia and one of them looked flight capable."

"Only one?"

"Yes, my liege. Two of them seemed to be Insecticons as well and the last one has a definite ground-mode."

Megatron turned from the screen and called for Astrotrain and Blast off. "You two! I want you in orbit. You are to intercept this shuttle and bring me the ones inside of it." Megatron turned back towards the monitor.

"Shockwave, I want you to scour Cybertron. Decepticon children on Cybertron means rogue Decepticons _parents _on Cybertron. And I want them found!"

"As you command, Lord Megatron. Shockwave, out."

Shockwave walked from the communications monitor to the security monitor. Typing rapidly, his logic chip worked overtime trying to make sense of what had happed.

_How had I missed several rogue Decepticons living on Cybertron? _Shockwave thought. _And who are they? How have they hidden this long? Where did they get enough Energon to start having children?_

His logic chips were on the verge of shorting out, but he worked through the pain. This was a horrendous blow to his pride. Just how many Cons and Bots were on Cybertron, lurking under the radar?

***

"We're almost there." Terrorsaur announced.

"Excellent, yesss."

Megatron reclined in his seat, while Wazpinator was bouncing in the co-pilot seat and Scorponok was fiddling with an old device.

"It won't be long now, nooo. Decepticon victory is at hand."

Grinning like a fiend, Megatron's optics went dark as he settled back for a short stasis nap.

***

Teletraan-1's alarms blared throughout the ARC. All the officers were gathered around the monitor room just as Optimus Prime entered.

"Prowl, report."

"Sir." Prowl stepped in front of Prime and saluted. "Were picking up Decepticon activity in the upper Atmosphere. Two Decepticons, identified by Cosmos as Astrotrain and Blast off, are intercepting an unknown shuttle."

"Do we have any information about this shuttle?"

"Negative, Prime."

"Alright men." Prime Addressed the gathered Autobots. "Whatever's in that shuttle can't be good for us, we have to make sure Megatron doesn't get his hands on it."

"Right, Prime!" Jazz nodded enthusiastically. "What's our next course of action?"

"Get the Arielbots, we're going to intercept it before the Decepticons get the chance."

***

"Incoming!" Blast off said, swerving to the side as lasers streaked by.

"What're the Autobot's doing here?" Asked Astrotrain.

Blast off sighed. "When aren't they mucking around in our business?"

Dodging the Arielbots, Astrotrain rounded back for another pass. Hitting one and being shot by the other.

"Fragging Bots! Don't they know this has nothing to do with them?"

"By the way they are shooting at us, I'm going to have to say no."

***

To be continued…

[A/N: Please leave a review, and constructive criticism is welcome.]


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